Author: Mirrordance

Title: Escape

Summary: Aragorn is lost during a tour with the Rangers, and Legolas later finds him in Bree, without his memories & happily relieved of all his noble burdens, making the elf hesitate to bring him back to who he truly was.

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PART FIVE

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      The crowds began to clear, mulling about their own businesses.  The group of actors, numbering four, were collecting favors from audiences who were handing them everything from silver and gold coins to various kinds of foodstuffs to express their appreciation.

      Legolas, flanked by Haldir, stepped forward towards them, hesitant.  Aside from Estel and the old man whom he first saw on the rickety stage, there was an elderly woman with disconcertingly sharp, amber eyes with them, and a portly youth with pink cheeks carrying a basket laden with fruits.  He was already happily munching on an apple, before the old woman slapped at his hands and told him to leave some for the rest of the family.

      A smiling Estel looked up at the pair of hooded arrivals, unfazed by their grave appearances.

      "Cecilia!" he exclaimed to the old woman in his company, "Look it here! A pair of elves have come to grace us with their presence!"

      Cecilia looked at them cautiously, and there was something scathing in her eyes that Legolas could not seem to understand.  So great was her wariness, as if they have come to wrest some kind of treasure from her.

      "Estel," Legolas called him softly, smiling slightly as he pulled back his hood to reveal his face to the human, ~You sent us a long way only just to be mocked by you.~

      Estel's eyes dimmed for a moment, as if some strange thought crossed his mind, before he smiled once again.

      "I'm sorry, master elf, I know not of your language," he said apologetically, though his eyes twinkled as he removed the carrots from his ears and showed them to Legolas, "You mistake me for your kin, but these are not real.  As you can see."

      Legolas looked at him with a stricken expression on his face, ~Estel, stop kidding around.  We thought you were dead! Lord Elrond, your brothers, Arwen…~

      Estel turned to the other elf, who was still hooded as his eyes surveyed the situation wordlessly.

      "Please tell your companion I cannot understand," he said, opening his palms up helplessly, "Was he by any chance offended by our play?"

      "He wasn't," Haldir said coolly, "But I was.  It was terrible."

      Estel smirked, turned to his human companions, "Well Bree certainly liked it, didn't they?"

      "They are drunken fools," Haldir pointed out.

      Legolas watched the conversation, his heart pounding and his eyes turbulent as he struggled to take hold of the situation.

      ~If you so desperately desired to escape,~ he told Estel fervently, ~You needn't have made us all believe you were dead.  It was highly unnecessary, nay, profoundly unkind of you to have done so…~

      Estel stared at Legolas, unsure of what to do with him, but seemed taken by the spell of his searching eyes.  There was something about the elf and his strange words that held him, and all at once called unto something deeper within him that he himself did not know of.  Estel opened his mouth, as if to ask something, but Cecilia's harsh tone cut him off, and just as effectively cut him from the elf's enchantments.

      "Let us hurry," Cecilia said, "The hour is late."

      Estel began to turn away.

      "Estel…" Legolas said tentatively.

      "We must go," Estel said apologetically, though he seemed rather relieved that he had an excuse to leave.  The elf, with his confused, yearning eyes, was making him profoundly uneasy.

      Legolas laid a hand against the man's arm, keeping him from leaving.  He looked searchingly upon the weathered but still-handsome face.  The eyes were deep and wise, the expression resting upon them open and honest and earnest.  This was Estel, to be sure, though it seemed just as certain that the man could not recognize him.  Legolas' brows furrowed.  How was this possible?

      There was a healing but still-nasty scar against the side of Estel's forehead, one that Legolas did not recognize as having been from their misadventures together.  He reached to lay a hand against it.

      "Easy!" Estel laughed, stepping back, trying to mask his discomfort, "It is tender still, master elf."  He looked at the other, far-colder elf as if for aid, saying, "He is rather fascinated by me, isn't he?"

      "I would say so," Haldir conceded, touching Legolas' shoulder as he said in a lowered voice, ~Hold yourself together.~

      Legolas looked at the Lothlorien elf for a quiet moment, before nodding.  He turned to look at the Estel, who was watching him warily.

      "I… apologize," Legolas said, trying to keep his voice strong.  The words were practically being wrested from his mouth, so hesitant was he to say them, "I mistook you for an old friend I knew from long ago.  What is your name, sir?"

      "Dalsegno," Estel replied, extending his hand to shake, smiling a little as he let his guard down just-so.  Legolas took it, and marked the exact feel of Estel's hands imprinted upon this stranger's.  He knew this hand, it's warmth, it's effortless strength, from the very first time he held it when he met the adan years ago.

      The two of them landed hard on the ground at a roll with the force of the assault.

      Yelping at the pain of the impact and caught by surprise over the maneuver and its complete and utter madness, Legolas was soon bested, the human straddling him against the ground.  Both of them were breathless and aching, but they held each other's glare coolly.

      "Why bother saving me," asked Legolas wryly, breaking the taut silence, "If you were planning on breaking my neck anyway?"
      "You were distracted shortly after," Strider replied, sharing the elf's dry humor with his dancing but cautious eyes, "I merely took advantage of an opportune instant."

      Legolas turned his head towards the direction from which they came.  The pounding of the horse hooves were vanishing in the near distance.

      "Now you lost two horses instead of one," he pointed out, "you should have just let me take it."
      "They know their way back to me," the human said confidently, eyeing the elf, measuring, "If you wanted a ride so badly, perhaps you should have just asked."

      "Can I have your horse then?" Legolas asked, pretending to be obtusely naïve.

      "No," laughed the human, surprised at the other's audacity, "I meant asked for a ride or some such thing."

      They held each other's gazes for a moment more, before the human sighed and rose to his feet, stepping back from the elf and offering him his hand to rise as well.  Gamely, Legolas took it, but instead of using it to pull himself up, he pulled the human down and swung at his long legs, effectively tripping him and sending him crashing to the floor.

      Strider grunted in dismay at the impact of his back to the ground, but he chuckled and said, "You're pretty petty for an elf."

      Legolas sneered at him—also very much unlike an elf!--and gained his feet on his own.  He hesitated a moment before offering the human his hand to aid him in turn.

      "Of course you're suspicious," sighed Strider, taking the proffered hand and rising, "You know what they say, you shouldn't do to others what you do not want them to do to yourself."

      He met Estel trying to steal the man's horse and of course, Estel did not let him.  He knew Estel's hand then, and this acute knowledge was only improved by the time they spent together since, and the many other misadventures such a companionship undoubtedly entailed.  It was this hand that has been extended to him each time he fell and needed aid.  It was this hand that patted his shoulder reassuringly in days that felt darker than the Mirkwood nights. 

      There was no two ways about it.  Dalsegno was Estel, and Estel was he.  And yet… was Estel pretending? Was he seeking to escape? Or perhaps the cut on his head was the culprit.  Legolas heard of such instances, when one's head injuries caused one to forget.

      But forget me? he wondered, disbelieving, and all at once embarrassed by his own arrogance. 

      "The cut upon your head," Legolas said as he took his hand from the man's, "What caused it?"

      "I thought elves were the masters of all that was well and mannerly," Dalsegno/Estel teased, "I've yet to learn of your name."

      Naturally, Legolas instinctively did not bother with his name, as if he expected it to just be known.  You bonk your head, you stupid adan, he thought irritably, and you completely forget about me.

      "I am Legolas," he replied, and motioned for the cloaked elf beside him, "And this is Haldir."

      "This cunning woman there is Cecilia," Estel introduced his own companions, "Our fine actor here is Damien, and the much-fattened apple-eater is called Biggles.  We are the Bree-folk Company of Actors."  

      "Actors," Legolas repeated flatly, after a moment of disbelief.

      "Yes, actors," Estel beamed.

      I turn my back on you for one moment…

      "What straits you get into," Legolas muttered.

      Estel's brows furrowed, "Excuse me?"

      "He said, 'The stage becomes you,'" Haldir lied wryly.

      "Let us leave," Cecilia said gruffly.

      "Don't be rude, Cecilia," Estel teased her, "Can you not see we are entertaining these curious strangers?"

      "One elf is the same as the others," she pointed out, "Curse your curiosity boy, we must be off."

      "He has a fascination for the elves, our Dalsegno," said Biggles jovially, "Why, we are entertaining one in our home right now, aren't we?"

      "Yes," Estel said, eyes twinkling as he nodded, "Perhaps you fair folk would know him.  He seems somewhat under the weather.  Sari, his name is.  We came upon him some weeks back."

      "Sari?" Haldir asked sharply.

      "Let us leave!" Cecilia exclaimed.

      "We wish to see this elf," Haldir said, "He is a friend of ours.  We have long been in search of him."

      "Come over to our home for tea," Estel smiled at the pair of elves invitingly, "Perhaps you will give Sari some much-needed cheer."

      "We have no tea to spare!" Cecilia snapped.

      "You always say that," Estel said to her indulgently, "And it's seldom true."

      Cecilia's eyes narrowed in irritation.  "If them elves are having my tea, they had best better earn it."

      "She is just asking for your help to pack up," Estel told Legolas and Haldir, "You needn't, though.  Her bark is bad enough as it is, but it is far worse than her bite."

      "We will help," Legolas said quickly, smiling tentatively.  It wasn't the tea he wanted, of course, and he frankly cared little for Sari.  But he wasn't going to let Estel out of his sight again.

TO BE CONTINUED…

SOME NOTES:

On my reviewers.  First of all, thank you to my kind reviewers.  I said at the first installments of "Escape" that I may not be as diligent with updates as I was with "Exile" because of time constraints in other realms of my life but your encouragements just seem to have a power over me.  So massive, massive thanks.  I am also very encouraged because as I said, I felt I was covering new ground here; with Haldir, with Estel, with an OC rival of Estel, with an entirely new world that I wondered if Tolkien's fans would actually find fitting and worthy of being in Middle-Earth.

On "Dalsegno". actually means to repeat, and I believe it is a musical sign.  I named Estel this because it's kind of a throw-back to Exile.  There will be a repletion of things here, except this time it is Estel who has borrowed a different identity instead of Legolas, and this time, it is Legolas who is wondering who Estel is.

On Haldir.  I wondered how my version of him would be received and was really rather nervous because he is a well-loved character.  I'm pleased to say I've not had any violent reactions so far :)

On the idea of Estel as an actor.  I did warn you of a quirky circumstance, didn't I? In "Exile," I had Legolas stealing a horse, and here, it is Estel with carrot-ears.  But of course, while it is visually interesting, it's also hardly a comedy (because I find I'm not witty enough to write one). 

Thanks to:

silvertoekee, port (I really work hard and I'm glad you appreciate it), kanaylle, frisha, halandleg4ever (I hope you enjoy this indeed, with haldir and legolas in it, I hope you won't be disappointed!), jenzy, dragonfly, tmelange, kit cloudkicker, idle mind, kandice (I hope Sari won't be too not likable the more you get to read of him in the coming chapters!), po-pla, the great Platy (am always, always grateful for your encouragement), Lady of Nimrodel, tychen, raven elendil black, elvendancer (don't apologize for not reviewing, I understand perfectly well the demands of our lives outside of this.  thank you for even taking the time to read my stories :)), silvertongue, stoneage woman (am always trying not to disappoint you :)), alice7 and justeenh and to everyone else who spared some of their time to read my fic.  Hope you guys have fun and see you at the next post :)